Feature article on the Lee brothers

HSB Note: "Hawaii's spring game will put the Warriors' new coordinators -- who played side-by-side for a season in college and later combined to build championship prep programs locally -- in the unfamiliar position of taking station on opposite sidelines at Aloha Stadium."

About how they are not looking ahead to the Spring game, Ron Lee said:
"That game is 15 practices away, we've got a lot of work to do. But I think that'll be a fun situation." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Both have certainly had enough to fill their days since being elevated to UH's coordinator positions by first-year head coach Greg McMackin. With spring practice opening tomorrow, there haven't been many free moments to soak in the significance of their mutual ascent with Ron taking over a prolific UH offense and Cal helping organize the Warrior defense."

About having the Lee brothers as his coordinators, Mack said:
"I don't know if any brothers have been offensive and defensive coordinators (on the same Division I team), but I can't think of two better brothers to do it. They've both got great experience, they're great people, they've got a great family and they're both winners. I've got the utmost confidence in them. ... I'm excited for them and excited for us that we have two guys such as the Lee brothers to be in such important positions." (HSB)

Looking forward to the season, Ron Lee said:
"That's what I enjoy, helping these guys get ready to step up, to run on the field in Gainesville (for the season opener at Florida). This season is a huge challenge for the coaches. We're all new coaches, we've got all new players, and that's the challenge, that's the excitement." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The brothers embrace the challenges of the game, and it always provides a focal point for conversation at family functions."

About how the Warriors dominate talk at their family gatherings, Cal Lee said:
"You can't go around too much without talking about football because you're around it constantly. So I don't think we talk about too many things other than football. It's ever-changing." (HSB)

Ron and Cal might have easy-going demeanors when walking around, but their older brother Tommy said:
"they're both pretty intense when they have to be. They might give you a low-key type personality, but when they have to turn it up a notch, they will." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Football has long been a central theme for Thomas and Hazel Lee's three sons. Tommy excelled as a quarterback at Saint Louis. Ron (Saint Louis) and Cal (Kalani) were rooted in defense. Reunited in college, they plugged the middle of the Willamette defense as the linebackers in the Bearcats' 5-2 alignment in the late 1960s. All three transitioned to coaching, and out of necessity Ron made a career-defining decision to turn his focus to offense upon taking over a fledgling Kaiser program in 1973. In an era played primarily between the tackles, Ron countered his team's lack of bulk by spreading four receivers across the field."

About how Ron Lee used a 4 WR offense at Kaiser, Cal Lee (who ran Kaiser's D at the time) said:
"In those days if you got 2 yards that was big, and we couldn't get 2 yards. He was smart enough to decide that he had to make a change. As a head coach he wasn't just going to bang it in there." (HSB)

HSB Note: "It was Tommy, then a high school coach in Oregon, who directed Ron to a rival coach named Mouse Davis. Davis was implementing a similar system at Portland State. Ron has been studying the run-and-shoot ever since."

About how he's run the 4 WR offense for a long time, Ron said:
"We've run this formation forever, so I think we have a pretty good understanding of how teams have to defend the four wideouts. Ask me about a tight end and two backs, I don't know much about that." (HSB)

HSB Note: "The passing attack wasn't exactly a hit at first, but the Cougars developed into a Prep Bowl champion in 1979 with the help of a former member of the swimming team the coaches convinced to give football a try."

About the Lee brothers, Rich Miano said:
"You could just tell they had something about them. Cal was a hard-nosed, old-school type of guy and Ron was an innovator type of guy on offense. The brothers just fit perfectly together." (HSB)

HSB Note: "Miano went on to productive careers at UH and in the NFL and has coached the Warrior defensive backs for the last nine years, working alongside Cal for the last five."

About Cal Lee, Miano said:
"You can bring in all these new techniques, but (Cal) knows it still goes back to old school, it still comes down to tackling and blocking and toughness and desire. It's very simple and it's all about just being more physical than the opponent." (HSB)

HSB Note: "At Saint Louis, Cal Lee was the head coach, with Ron coordinating the offense. They built the Crusaders into a prep dynasty, winning 15 Prep Bowl and HHSAA state titles. Although Saint Louis' success seemed to be self-sustaining, it wasn't without a little extra effort from the coaches."

About how the St. Louis coaches learned from the college coaches that came to recruit their players, Delbert Tengan (an assistant for 14 years under Cal Lee) said:
"When the recruiters came from all the different colleges, they were always picking their brains on certain techniques, certain schemes and every year they went to clinics all over the country. They were always looking to stay one step ahead of everyone else." (HSB)

HSB Note: "While the game has evolved over the years, some things remain constant, most significantly the role of family in their travels. All three brothers were on the staff when Saint Louis began its run of Prep Bowl titles in the 1980s and their parents remain regular figures in the stands -- home and away."

About their parents, Ron said:
"They're our greatest fans. When we were 8, 9 years old, their whole lives were getting us to the games and potlucks. ... Family functions were always built around football and it's still the same today. We're pretty blessed." (HSB)